Near-Record Number of New Iowa Businesses Started this Year

DES MOINES, Iowa -- With the lowest unemployment rate in the country, the Iowa Secretary of State said more and more people are taking risks with their money and starting new businesses.

Two-thousand one-hundred and ninety-five new businesses filed with the Secretary of State in January. That is just nine filings short of the previous record back in March of 2018.

Attorneys like Don Nguyen with Community CPA handle a lot of new filings for new business owners.

“The business environment in Iowa is very friendly to people starting their own businesses, and that’s basically the American dream, make a business for themselves and make a living for their families,” Nguyen said.

Now opening a new business with the state of Iowa is even quicker with the Fast Track Filing system. It used to take up to three weeks to file a new business with Iowa, now it is done in less than 10 minutes.

“You’d be surprised how many people say, 'I need this done tomorrow, can you get me a corporation and an LLC, by tomorrow because I have a loan coming in' or some other financial factors that need it to be done,” Nguyen said.

The Secretary of State’s Office says 13,000 new businesses were started in the current fiscal year and it’s a positive economic indicator that Iowa is doing well.

“The cost of living is low, the schools are good, everything from an economic standpoint is looking good for Iowa right now. If you’re a young person looking for a job, maybe 10 years ago Iowa wouldn’t have been the place you might think of, but a lot of people are learning that Iowa is a great place to be,” Iowa Secretary of State’s Communication Director Kevin Hall said.

Depending on the type of business, you don’t have to file as a new business with the state, Nguyen said filing with the state is valuable for new business because of different tax benefits.